What To Look For While Shopping For An Upright Freezer

Have you found yourself wondering whether or not you need an upright freezer? If you answered “Yes” to this question, you’re actually not alone. Upright freezers have become increasingly popular over the years, due largely to both their practicality and affordability. A family armed with an upright freezer has the enviable luxury of buying food items either on sale or in bulk today, storing them safely, and then consuming them at a later date – sometimes a much later date. Or even a much, much later date. If this notion peaks your interest, then an upright freezer may be for you. Here are a few things to consider before purchasing one of these nifty appliances.

Where It Will Live

There’s a good chance your won’t be storing your upright freezer in your living room, dining room, or bedroom. However, if you were planning on becoming a pioneer in small fridge freezer décor, we highly recommend against it. These babies can at times be a little noisy. Our recommendation? Keep your upright freezer in a cool, out-of-the-way place, like a basement, storage room, or garage. If you are planning on storing the appliance in a detached garage, please be mindful of the temperature. Unless you live in Antarctica, the cold temperatures shouldn’t pose much of a problem. But hot temperatures? That may be a different story. If you live in a place where the thermometer can at times crack a hundred degrees, you may want to consider placing your appliance in a climate controlled area.

Alarm – This is probably a worthwhile add-on. Some models come with built in alarms designed to alert you if the temperature changes too quickly (think accidently leaving the door open).

Credit: AmazonLock – Makes sure the door is sealed and keeps unwanted parties out (think small children). Also great if you want to store your life savings inside. We’re joking. That is, unless you want lots of cold, hard cash…

Magnetic Door Seal – The point of any freezer is to keep the cold air in and the warm air out. A magnetic door seal helps to do just that.

Energy Use

Credit: AmazonWhen reviewing an under counter freezer, keep an eye on the appliance’s energy consumption. Remember – your upright freezer will be plugged in and working hard all the time. It will not ask for a day off. It will take no sick days. It will not visit its family over Thanksgiving or Christmas. Therefore, it obviously makes sense to know what your freezer will cost to operate on a yearly basis. But there’s something you should keep in mind when examining the yearly energy consumption figures that are advertised by the manufacturer. More often than not, these numbers and prices are based on what we call “Manufacturer-Friendly Conditions”. When testing their appliances for energy consumption, many manufacturers will not set the temperature to zero degrees, but rather to a temperature just cold enough for the Department of Energy to classify their product as a freezer. A good rule of thumb? Add about 20% to the advertised energy consumption.

Blackout Performance

Credit: AmazonLet’s take a moment to consider the worst case scenario – the moment disaster strikes. Your favorite butcher has just gone out of business. In a partial tribute and partial act of desperation, you buy every last cut of meat offered in the store the day it closes. You go home, stock up your upright freezer, and sigh a poultry-induced sigh of relief. Even though your butcher has closed, you have enough meat socked away to last half a lifetime. And you live happily ever after……that is, until the next morning. After dreaming of savory sirloins all night, you wake up to a dark, powerless house. You get out of bed, fall to your knees and peer up into the heavens – cursing whatever malicious being would have dared to doom your cache of ever-so-precious meats. It’s scenarios like these (though maybe not quite as dramatic) that make understanding blackout performance important when reviewing freezers for sale. Many sellers claim their appliance can keep your food frozen for a full twenty-four hours without power. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Suggestion: Spend a few minutes scrolling through reviews online. If a manufacturer is exaggerating its product’s blackout performance, a scorned meat enthusiast is certain to be screaming about it.

Now that your upright freezer education is complete, it’s time to go out and find the best appliance for your lifestyle. Stay cool!